Our last day in Banos we planned a 4 hour day trip.
We hired a cab for the day - only $32 - and headed off to the famous waterfall, Pailon del Diablo. It was about a 20 minute drive out there, driving up through windy roads - my vertigo getting a little aggitated. A little waterfall was pouring down onto the road so the driver stopped to give his car a rinse.
The waterfall was amazing, we spent two hours there. It is a bit of a hike there, but the views are amazing.
There are two sides to the waterfall. The first side when walking down to the view point you can hear and feel the vibration of the waterfall, it literally felt like it was pulsing through my blood.
To get to this side however, we had to cross a suspension bridge, two of them actually. Perfect, heights, my favourite. It can be difficult sometimes when people dont understand the effects of vertigo. It took me almost five minutes to get a foot on the bridge. Then then a minute to grab my balance and then enough courage to turn around and stand there while our picture was taken. But of course, I dont let my fears stop me and eventually crossed both bridges.
There is only one viewing point from this side and you can see to the other side with the stairs swirling down into the rocks, people taking pictures and of course the waterfall itself. Our driver
came with us which was awesome because he took all our photos for us, plus Lesina practiced her Spanish with him the whole time. She is getting better then me, Im so jealous!
The boys wanted to head to the other side. Lesina and I werent to keen as the hike back up was a little tough but when we were told it would take about an hour on the otherside we decided to go. This time walking over the suspension bridge with ease, and quickly so I could be on it as short as possible.
It was so worth it!!! There were more viewing points on this side and the views were beautiful. The first one was a bit of a mission. You pretty much had to crawl on all fours through a little cave which was a little bit claustrophobic. When I got to the end - "Emmie your small you go first" - it didnt seem like we could go any further but we had to climb up stairs that were carved into the rock to get out into the open. We were so close the water fall that we could reach out and touch it...so I did.
We spent about 15 minutes taking pictures from every spot possible as we were on a bit of a tight time frame and still had to hike back up about a half hour. My lungs and legs screamed at me but it was so worth it and really glad I push myself most times to do things.
Our next stop was at the edge of the earth. As you can guess it has to do with heights. Why not. I had already abseiled, zip lined and walked across two suspension bridges. Why not sit on a swing
that goes over a cliff? Sure, its super safe. I could see the branches moving as people swung back and forth creaking with every back and forth sway. I got on without hesitation, pushed back, and let myself go. It almost felt like I was flying. I was scared but it felt awesome. Up in there air at the edge of the earth with Tungurahua, the active volcano, as a back drop. Who thought being so close to the edge could feel so good. Do one thing everyday that scares you. Think I might try and make this my new saying instead of my famous What the fuck did I get myself into, but we will see how that goes.
We had to race back to the hostel, grab our stuff and hop on the bus. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare. We were heading to Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. I was a little sad to leave Banos. So many people we had met in Mancora and Montanita had arrived, plus Banos is beautiful. The rolling mountain landscape was something I didnt want to say goodbye too but a new destination was in place and only three hours away.
When we arrived at the hostel the kitchen was closed and nothing on the streets was open. We hopped in a cab that said McDonalds was open but that was closed when we got there. Thankfully, KFC has later hours and we were able to pack our bellies with it at 11pm and then head straight to bed.
Quito is beautiful. Our hostel was located in Old Quito - we have switched hostels. It has a European feel to it, almost like Prague but without the cobblestone street and gothic architecture. Its beautiful, with colourful buildings and small European like streets with a back drop of Cotopaxi Mountain in the background.
We went into Mariscal for lunch, the newer part of Ecuador and tourist area as every five minutes someone walks up to you and tries to sell you sunglasses - a key thing in the tourist areas.
Mariscal is modern, clean, with pubs and bars, shops, music a good vibe and lots of sunshine. I love it!!! Walking around made me feel giddy. I dont know why. I guess just after everything the past few months I feel 100% happy again, and feeling that way makes me even more happy.
After lunch, a build your own burger for under $7 - it is American dollars here which is great but I spent so much time in Peru I am converting everything to soles which completely changes what cheap and expensive is - and a pitcher of beer, it was close to 4pm. With not much time left of daylight we decided to go up the mountain by cable car to get a view of Quito. This I definitely wasnt a fan of. I have been in one before and my vertigo just goes through the roof. "Guys Im not overly keen on doing this, I have done this before and it is one thing that I dont like" "Emmie, what did you tell me yesterday. What is something you have been saying for the last five days now." Ben said to me harshly "Yes I know but honestly, I really dont like cable cars." "Oh so you forgot what you told me already, have you?" I started laughing "No I havent forgotten. You guys really dont know what vertigo feels like."
I went, I dont let my fears stop me, I may hesitate, but I still do things that scare me. What would be the point in exploring this beautiful world if I let my fears control my actions.
I freaked. I held on to Bens leg squeezing it the higher we got. He sat there laughing at me. Matt played some weird music which set the mood for the car falling off the wire and us plummeting to our death. He changed it.
The views were beautful. A landscape of green mountains speckled with the life of the city, Cotopaxi
in the background with an overlay of clouds thats seemed to be protecting the life underneath. Once again worth it.
Going down was heaps easier, though at times it seemed like we werent moving at all so getting back down on the ground was a nice feeling.
Well, today we are off to the equator, how cool is that. I am super stoked.
I love Ecuador.
- My Beautiful Life -
We hired a cab for the day - only $32 - and headed off to the famous waterfall, Pailon del Diablo. It was about a 20 minute drive out there, driving up through windy roads - my vertigo getting a little aggitated. A little waterfall was pouring down onto the road so the driver stopped to give his car a rinse.
The waterfall was amazing, we spent two hours there. It is a bit of a hike there, but the views are amazing.
There are two sides to the waterfall. The first side when walking down to the view point you can hear and feel the vibration of the waterfall, it literally felt like it was pulsing through my blood.
To get to this side however, we had to cross a suspension bridge, two of them actually. Perfect, heights, my favourite. It can be difficult sometimes when people dont understand the effects of vertigo. It took me almost five minutes to get a foot on the bridge. Then then a minute to grab my balance and then enough courage to turn around and stand there while our picture was taken. But of course, I dont let my fears stop me and eventually crossed both bridges.
There is only one viewing point from this side and you can see to the other side with the stairs swirling down into the rocks, people taking pictures and of course the waterfall itself. Our driver came with us which was awesome because he took all our photos for us, plus Lesina practiced her Spanish with him the whole time. She is getting better then me, Im so jealous!
The boys wanted to head to the other side. Lesina and I werent to keen as the hike back up was a little tough but when we were told it would take about an hour on the otherside we decided to go. This time walking over the suspension bridge with ease, and quickly so I could be on it as short as possible.
It was so worth it!!! There were more viewing points on this side and the views were beautiful. The first one was a bit of a mission. You pretty much had to crawl on all fours through a little cave which was a little bit claustrophobic. When I got to the end - "Emmie your small you go first" - it didnt seem like we could go any further but we had to climb up stairs that were carved into the rock to get out into the open. We were so close the water fall that we could reach out and touch it...so I did. We spent about 15 minutes taking pictures from every spot possible as we were on a bit of a tight time frame and still had to hike back up about a half hour. My lungs and legs screamed at me but it was so worth it and really glad I push myself most times to do things.
Our next stop was at the edge of the earth. As you can guess it has to do with heights. Why not. I had already abseiled, zip lined and walked across two suspension bridges. Why not sit on a swing
We had to race back to the hostel, grab our stuff and hop on the bus. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare. We were heading to Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. I was a little sad to leave Banos. So many people we had met in Mancora and Montanita had arrived, plus Banos is beautiful. The rolling mountain landscape was something I didnt want to say goodbye too but a new destination was in place and only three hours away.
When we arrived at the hostel the kitchen was closed and nothing on the streets was open. We hopped in a cab that said McDonalds was open but that was closed when we got there. Thankfully, KFC has later hours and we were able to pack our bellies with it at 11pm and then head straight to bed.
Quito is beautiful. Our hostel was located in Old Quito - we have switched hostels. It has a European feel to it, almost like Prague but without the cobblestone street and gothic architecture. Its beautiful, with colourful buildings and small European like streets with a back drop of Cotopaxi Mountain in the background.
We went into Mariscal for lunch, the newer part of Ecuador and tourist area as every five minutes someone walks up to you and tries to sell you sunglasses - a key thing in the tourist areas.
Mariscal is modern, clean, with pubs and bars, shops, music a good vibe and lots of sunshine. I love it!!! Walking around made me feel giddy. I dont know why. I guess just after everything the past few months I feel 100% happy again, and feeling that way makes me even more happy.
After lunch, a build your own burger for under $7 - it is American dollars here which is great but I spent so much time in Peru I am converting everything to soles which completely changes what cheap and expensive is - and a pitcher of beer, it was close to 4pm. With not much time left of daylight we decided to go up the mountain by cable car to get a view of Quito. This I definitely wasnt a fan of. I have been in one before and my vertigo just goes through the roof. "Guys Im not overly keen on doing this, I have done this before and it is one thing that I dont like" "Emmie, what did you tell me yesterday. What is something you have been saying for the last five days now." Ben said to me harshly "Yes I know but honestly, I really dont like cable cars." "Oh so you forgot what you told me already, have you?" I started laughing "No I havent forgotten. You guys really dont know what vertigo feels like."
I went, I dont let my fears stop me, I may hesitate, but I still do things that scare me. What would be the point in exploring this beautiful world if I let my fears control my actions.
I freaked. I held on to Bens leg squeezing it the higher we got. He sat there laughing at me. Matt played some weird music which set the mood for the car falling off the wire and us plummeting to our death. He changed it.
The views were beautful. A landscape of green mountains speckled with the life of the city, Cotopaxiin the background with an overlay of clouds thats seemed to be protecting the life underneath. Once again worth it.
Going down was heaps easier, though at times it seemed like we werent moving at all so getting back down on the ground was a nice feeling.
Well, today we are off to the equator, how cool is that. I am super stoked.
I love Ecuador.
- My Beautiful Life -
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